Tap on the image above, or any of the smaller panels below, to read those stories.

Tap on the image above, or any of the smaller panels below, to read those stories.

Photo: Chronicle screenshot

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New sections draw on popular sources, such as CNN or the New York Times.

New sections draw on popular sources, such as CNN or the New York Times.

Photo: Chronicle screenshot

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As with Flipboard, you can flip up on the summaries of stories to read the complete piece.

As with Flipboard, you can flip up on the summaries of stories to read the complete piece.

Photo: Chronicle screenshot

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You can do almost anything from Paper that you can from the standard Facebook app.

You can do almost anything from Paper that you can from the standard Facebook app.

Photo: Chronicle screenshot

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You can write updates and post videos and photos.

You can write updates and post videos and photos.

Photo: Chronicle screenshot

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Facebook's new Paper is pretty, but complex

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Since its inception a decade ago, Facebook has based the way it works on a simple metaphor. Facebook shows the information you care about in a so-called “river of news,” which users scroll for a quick scan of stories. It’s an interface initially championed by blogs and now common across the Web.

But the use of mobile devices gives Facebook a new challenge. The river of news seems cramped and confining on a smartphone screen, particularly when users post photos and videos. To fix this problem, Facebook on Monday launched a new, free app for reading stories on the service called Paper. It’s more visual and aims to bring organization to the chaos of the service’s News Feed.

Paper clearly gets much of its inspiration from Flipboard, a popular mobile app that turns social media feeds into an online magazine. Photos and videos get more prominent display, and swiping – rather than tapping – is the primary navigation method.

But while Paper is prettier, it’s also more complex. Facebook’s standard mobile app isn’t particularly intuitive – there are multiple menus, and you’re never sure which feature is accessed from behind either sliding panel. But Paper is even more so – in fact, when you first launch the app, you’re walked through a prompted tutorial to make sure you understand how to get from here to there. As you use it, Paper senses when you may be unsure how to proceed and offers more audio prompts.

I agree with Web strategist Jeremiah Owyang’s assessment:

Just tried Facebook’s Paper. If you need a 10min audio and visual guide, it means your UI is too complex.

Story sections are presented with a lead item and its photo at the top, with a horizontally scrolling row of cards below. What was once a vertical river of news is now a horizontally flowing one.

At the main screen, swipe left to cycle through sections, then swipe up or tap to read a story – or rather, the summary of a story. You swipe up or tap yet again to read the full thing, then swipe down to return to the summary, and again to return to the list.

Confused yet? It gets worse on iOS (the app isn’t yet available for Android). On an iPhone, it’s easy to accidentally bring up the Control Center when you swipe up, and the Notification Center when you swipe down.

You can do almost anything from the Paper app that you can from the standard Facebook app, including post updates, photos and video; change settings; chat and leave messages; and check your notifications. It would be very easy for Paper to replace the regular Facebook app, and that indeed may be the goal here. But Facebook needs to simplify this intriguing app before that will happen for most folks.

Semi-related: This is Facebook’s 10th anniversary, and to celebrate the service has created for each of its users a 1-minute video of his or her highlights since signing up. Here’s mine: